PRECIS OF FRIDAY'S SITTING.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 14073, 19 June 1911, Page 7

PRECIS OF FRIDAY'S SITTING.

THE DOMINIONS AND COMMERCIAL TREATIES. IMPORTANT MOTION BY SIR WILFRID LAURIER. LONDON, June 16. Mr Asquith presided at the Conference to-day:— Sir Wilfrid Laurier moved: — "That the British Government be requested to negotiates with the Powers iv order to relieve the Dominions so desiring from the operations of treaties." He referred to Australia's experience, when the latter wished to givo preference to British goods in British ships, which had been prevented by the

favoured-nation clause. This showed the necessity of his proposal. Canada was now faced with a similar difficulty in giving preference. It had been suggested that his proposal would destroy the principlo of commercial unity, but

such a principle did not exist. Th 1 Motherland had freetrado and tho D< ' minions had tariffs, and no two tarifl \ agreed. Commercial diversity exisw instead of commercial unity. Thei was no ~ difficulty in understandin that, when Britain made a treaty t suit her own requirements, it migfc not suit tho Dominions. His idea ws to bring old treaties into line wit! tho new ones- Tho proposal should b coupled with three principles: Jturstlj it should be tho Dominions' first effoi to develop trade as far as possiblo wit the Motherland; secondly, they shoul not confine their efforts to British mai kets, but should be allowed, as thei I second object, to increase trade wit I other nations; and, thirdly, that an benefits given by tho Dominions t other nations, should be given by th , Dominions to the Motherland and othe Dominions. Mr Fisher said that Sir Wilfrii Laurier's arguments commended them selves to the Commonwealth. Th' Dominions appreciated the difficultie and strongly wished, without embarras sing tho Home Government, to hav< the treaties modified in the way pro pesed. Sir Joseph "Ward, Sir Edward Morris and General Botha supported Sir Wi! frid's motion. Sir Edward Grey said that he coul< accept the resolution, as ho realiset that the old treaties, not containing the options of the .newer, must some times embarrass tho Dominions. Ques tions had been raised with\ Italy in response to the Commonwealth's re quest, and a reply had. been receiver that it would be necessary to denounq the existing treaty and negotiate loj a new one. If that attitude were genej rally adopted, it would be inconvenieni to denounce an old treaty before a nevj agreement was secured. The casj might be met by agreeing to open nego tiationa for modifications, and if thai failed, it would be best to negotiate for new without denouncing the old ones. He accepted the- resolar.ticn, which, "on' that understanding, waj